Australia not so lucky for Kiwi migrants

More Kiwis are calling Australia home, but some of those venturing across the ditch are finding the so-called lucky country not so lucky after all.

The latest census figures from Australia show 483,400 people living in Australia were born in New Zealand, about 2.2 per cent of the total population.

It's an increase of almost 100,000 people since the last census in 2006, and it means there are now more Kiwis living in Australia than there are living in either Wellington or Christchurch.

Meanwhile, figures from this side of the Tasman show about 1000 Kiwis are heading to Australia each week, with intentions of staying there long-term.

Many of those who leave New Zealand shores do so because of the promise of more jobs, better pay and warmer weather.

Jacques Poot, Professor of Population Economics at Waikato University, says the integrated trans-Tasman labour market means workers are more mobile and more likely to move to where the jobs are.

Most of the migration has been to Australia because "Australia has generated more jobs over the last several decades than New Zealand", Prof Poot says.

However, the economic realities are starting to bite for some.

"The Australian dollar is really high, because of that, if a New Zealander converts what they could earn in Australia to New Zealand dollars then it looks like it could be quite a gain," Prof Poot said.

But, there's a catch.

"If they use that current exchange rate as a measure for whether they're going to gain, they are probably going to be disappointed because, particularly right now, they will under-estimate the cost of living in Australia."

And some are finding it tougher than expected.

The New Zealand High Commission in Canberra and the New Zealand Consulate-Generals in Sydney and Melbourne have noticed an increase in the number of Kiwis wanting help to return home, a spokesman for the High Commission told NZ Newswire.

Most New Zealanders who enter Australia are issued with a non-protected special category visa, which means they can live and work in Australia as long as they wish, as long as they remain of good character.

However, this particular type of visa means New Zealanders have limited access to Australian health, disability, social and education support and have no entitlement to unemployment or sickness benefits, or to student loans.

For young people - university graduates with no assets and limited family ties in New Zealand - hopping across the Tasman is easy, Bank New Zealand Head of Research Stephen Toplis says.

But it's not so easy for others.

"If say, for example, you're in your mid-40s, married, couple of kids, own your own house and a couple of assets in New Zealand, well it's hellishly difficult to move to Australia," he said.

"You're going to swap your million dollar house in Auckland and have to buy a three million dollar house in Sydney to be equally as well off, and then the cost of your kids' education over there and all the rest."

The wages might be higher in Australia, but Mr Toplis says "you're probably going to have to work five or 10 years to pay back the difference".

With the exception of the mining sector, Australia has felt the bite of the recession.

"Western Australia is doing well because of the money that spins off the back of the mining sector," Mr Toplis said.

"I think you'll find that businesses that have New Zealand and Australian operations in the domestic economy are probably more worried about their Australian businesses than they are their New Zealand businesses."

For Kiwis venturing across the ditch, Australia might not be the land of milk and honey after all.